SuperSport United must come back from a 2-1 deficit against DR Congo side TP Mazembe in the home leg of their African Confederation Cup final on Saturday‚ but history provides plenty of examples of teams who have turned the tables to claim the trophy in the second game.
In fact‚ it has been the norm down the years for the side who play the second leg at home to lift the trophy‚ no matter what the first leg score‚ as only four times in the previous 14 years has the team who started at home been crowned champions.
Sipho Mbule scored what could prove to be a vital away goal for Matsatsantsa in Lubumbashi on Sunday as Eric Tinkler’s side also spurned a number of chances to claim the advantage in the final going into the second leg at the Atterideville Stadium on Saturday night.
Since the competition was first played in 2004‚ four sides have come back from a first leg deficit to win the trophy‚ and quite astonishingly‚ only twice before has a team that held the advantage after the first game gone on to win.
Seven finals were all square after the opening match.
Moroccan side FAR Rabat were the first team to overturn a first leg deficit as they trailed Nigerian side Dolphins FC 1-0 in the 2005 decider‚ but roared back to claim a 3-0 success in the second game.
Stade Malien trailed Algerian side ES Setif 2-0 from the first leg of the 2009 final‚ but won by the same margin in their home game and then triumphed 3-2 on penalties to claim the cup.
Another Moroccan team‚ MAS Fez‚ did likewise in 2011 when they trailed Club African 1-0 from the first game‚ but won by the same scoreline in the second and then claimed the shoot-out 6-5.
The most recent example was in 2014 when Egyptian giants Al Ahly trailed Sewe Sport from Ivory Coast 2-1 from the first leg of the final in Abidjan‚ but won the second leg 1-0 to claim the final on the away goals rule.
A similar result for SuperSport on Saturday would suit Tinkler and his men just fine.
The only clubs to lift the trophy when playing the second leg away from home are Hearts of Oak‚ who beat fellow Ghanaian side Asante Kotoko 8-7 on penalties after a pair of 1-1 draws in 2004‚ and Tunisian side CS Sfaxien‚ who beat compatriots Etoile du Sahel on the away goals rule after their tie finished 2-2 in 2008.
Moroccan side FUS Rabat claimed a 3-2 win at Sfaxien in 2010 to take their tie on aggregate by the same scoreline in what is also the only instance of the away side winning the second leg‚ though of course a draw will be good enough for Mazembe at the weekend.
Sfaxien lost 2-1 at TP Mazembe in 2013 in the second leg‚ but still lifted the trophy 3-2 on aggregate.
That is also one of only two times that the side winning the first leg has been crowned champions‚ with the other a 4-2 away win for Sfaxien at Sudanese side Al Merrikh that was followed by a 1-0 home success.
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